Blind, Depressed, Dissolute and Hopeless
by T'Liana
Summary: Four people who were told they were amount to nothing. Four people whose lives were affected by members of the Enterprise crew. Four people whose lives were forever changed for the better. Introducing four major OC's that feature in my Spock/OC stories, two to be introduced in the third instalment. Rated T to be safe.
1. Caitlin McFarland

I think it's time for me to write back stories for the non-Academy OC's that appear in my Spock/Zia stories. The character in this chapter is Caitlin, an OC that will appear in the third Spock/Zia story as well as feature in a chapter of _Children of Two Worlds_. For this chapter no prior knowledge of my other stories is needed, although knowledge of the 2009 and 2013 movies are.

I plan to pair this character with a certain member of the _Enterprise _crew. Who do you think it'll be?

Please read and review and let me know what you think about this new character!

o.O.o

**Caitlin McFarland**

Her world was what could only be described as dark. Once, she'd asked her mother what colour she was looking at, and her mother had replied with 'black'. She explained that black was a dark colour and that it would probably be the only colour that her daughter would ever see.

Blindness was something that could be cured in the year 2255. There were medical procedures, surgical equipment and vitamins could be taken to strengthen the pupils.

Not for Caitlin McFarland.

She stood alone on the balcony that stood above the hustle and bustle of London. The sounds of the vehicles and flitters echoed up the many storeys, even the voices of people. Just by listening Caitlin could discern five different languages being spoken – Tholian, Ferengi, Vulcan, Terran and Romulan. It was an odd combination of languages, especially since she wasn't in America. Wait, was there some French? Yes, someone was speaking French! _'There's so much more culture in France than here. Jacques, please let's go. I want to get back to the hotel and sleep.'_

Caitlin smiled. Jacques replied in French too, obviously disgruntled at his wife's impatience. It was clear that it was his wife – no other woman could sound condescending, loving and thoroughly annoyed at the same time, not even a mother.

There weren't just sounds, but smells as well. It had rained the night before and their air was filled with moisture. She could smell sweet honey, strong coffee and the rose bushes from the balcony below her. It overloaded her senses, yet she couldn't prevent it. Her auditory and olfactory systems always worked overdrive.

Born in London, 2233, Caitlin had been blind since birth. Her father had died from cancer when she was just a baby and she had been raised by her mother. Then, when she was fifteen, her mother had died in a car crash and Caitlin had been by herself ever since, living on a Starfleet pension. It was difficult growing up blind, especially since most career paths required sight, and Caitlin hadn't seen much hope for her future. At least, until she realised that she had a gift with languages and voice recognition.

It was intuitive. If she heard a word from a language she remembered it. She could speak over twenty-five languages fluently, fifteen of those languages being of Terran vernacular, and she was only twenty-two years of age. That skill had opened a door for her at Starfleet. She had gone through the entire six weeks of the Starfleet Academy Preparatory Exam and finally submitted her entrance exam. It had been hard for her, as all the written parts had to be done especially for her in the blind language. The only problems were the sight tests and physical exams. She had hoped that her xenolinguistics abilities were enough to get her accepted.

And they were. Yesterday she'd received a call telling her that she had been accepted into Starfleet Academy. It wasn't the least bit overwhelming and she was looking forward to a challenge. Besides, London held the memories of her mother and father and she was ready to move on.

Now she could go to San Francisco and start the next chapter of her life. She would be halfway around the world in an unfamiliar place, with the scholarship she needed and her pension to pay her way through. It was the best opportunity and she was _not _passing it over.

With a laugh she retreated back inside and began her usual morning routine of speaking to the synthesiser, eating her breakfast while listening to the news, and getting dressed for the day. Before leaving she slid on a pair of black-lensed glasses and grabbed her cane. Her eyes unnerved some people.

o.O.o

Caitlin had her hand to the wall as she walked up the corridor, following the spoken directions of the woman who had handed over her map and timetable. She had no need for a map.

"Turn left," she muttered, running her hand around the corner and readjusting her hold on her bag. "It should be the seventh door on the right." She crossed to the other side of the corridor and touched each door as she passed, counting them and drawing the symbols with her finger. Her mother had taught her what each symbol looked like by making Caitlin's hand draw them. So she simply matched the symbols she'd been taught with the numbers on the doors, all the way up to 7.

Now it was time for the keypad. She knew that the numbers were three-by-three in chronological order. 6, 2, 9, 5 was her code and she entered the numbers carefully, matching each position with the keypad style she'd been taught. The door chimed as it slid open and she stepped inside excitedly.

"Hello?" she called. "Is anyone there?" No one replied, so there was obviously no one there. She felt her way along the wall and further into this unfamiliar room. It was totally different to her apartment in London. There, she knew exactly where everything was and this place was alien to her. But it would soon become as familiar as her old apartment. Several steps in, she laughed as she almost tripped over a bed and put down her bag, opening it and feeling her way through all the items and organising them. It took several minutes to locate a wardrobe and put her new Academy uniforms inside. Really all she'd brought were clothes, her customised PADD from home, black-lensed glasses, walking cane and her wallet which had her identification, credit card and proof of her condition.

With her meagre belongings put away, she grabbed her cane from her bedside table and pulled it to its full length, standing. Then she heard the door chime as it slid open.

"Hey y'all!" came a loud, boisterous voice. Footsteps approached and the scent of farm animals wafted into the room. "I'm Monique, an' I guess I'm yer roommate." There was a pause. "Are ya retarded or somethin'? Ya gotta shake tha hand."

"Oh." Caitlin reached in front of her and moved her hand around clumsily, seeking Monique's hand. The other woman snorted.

"Yer so stupid," Monique moaned. "Ya really are retarded, aren't ya?"

"Excuse me?" Caitlin asked in shock, abandoning her feeble hand-shaking attempt.

"Oh great, an' yer a pom too," the other woman grated. "So yer a pom an' yer blind."

"I am from England, and yes, I'm blind."

"See ya, I'm gonna get reassigned. I ain't bunkin' wit' some retard."

Caitlin shrugged. "You don't have to be so rude about it."

The door chimed again. "See ya loser." Her footsteps faded away and Caitlin sat back down on her bed. Obviously Monique wasn't worth it, so she didn't want her coming back.

More footsteps sounded and Caitlin pursed her lips. "Who is it?"

This voice was gentler. "Hey, I heard what happened. My name's Nyota Uhura and I live in the dorm room across the hall. Are you a first-year too?"

"Yes."

The bed dipped as Nyota sat down too, the sweet scent of jasmine and coconut filling the air. "What's your name?"

"I'm Caitlin McFarland."

"It's nice to meet you." A warm hand grasped hers and she jumped slightly. "Sorry!" The hand let go. "I've never actually met a blind person before. Have you been like that all your life?"

Caitlin nodded. "Yes, ever since birth." She smiled. "You smell amazing."

Nyota chuckled a little. "Thanks! I'm glad someone finally noticed."

"So where are you from?"

"I'm from Kitui, Kenya in Africa. So is my family. My mum's name is M'Umbha, my dad's Alhamisi; I've got a sister called Makena and a brother called Kamau. What about you?"

"Both my mum and dad are dead."

"I'm so sorry!"

"Really, its fine," Caitlin smiled. "I'm really interested about you. When were you born? What institution did you attend?"

"Born in 2233, attended the Nairobi Girls Academy when I was younger and did my senior schooling at the Institute for Advanced Mathematics." Nyota chuckled. "Now it's your turn."

"Born in 2233, attended East London Special Academy until I was fifteen and haven't attended an institution since."

"Your family…?"

"My dad's name was Josh and my mum's name was Willow. He died from cancer when I was a baby and she died in a car crash when I was fifteen. No other family."

Nyota gasped. "How do you manage? How did you even _get _here?"

"I live off a Federation disability pension and I got here through a scholarship. The Preparatory Program and Entrance Exam were absolutely brutal. What's your major?"

"My major is xenolinguistics with a minor in communications."

"Just xenolinguistics for me; it's the only thing I can actually do." The bed moved and Nyota took a few steps forward, paper crinkling in her hand. "What's that?"

"It's your timetable," Nyota replied. "You're doing almost the same classes as me! You've got _Introduction to Phonology, Introduction to Linguistics, Sociolinguistic Survey, Intergalactic Literature, Independent Study _and _History of Starfleet. _I'm doing the same, but I've got _Classical Vulcan _instead of _Independent Study_."

Caitlin smiled and tapped her cane along the floor. "Do you know where everything is?"

"Yes. I got here a week ago."

"Would it be possible for you to take me around the campus? I don't know my way."

"Sure!" Nyota stood and walked away, the door hissing open. "Come on."

Caitlin held her arm out hesitantly. "I need to put my hand on your shoulder…"

The jasmine scent became stronger and Nyota took Caitlin's hand, placing it on her shoulder. The blind girl stood and followed her new friend out the door and into the corridor.

"Right now we're in the right wing," Nyota told her. "The Cafeteria is at the far end of this wing, opposite the entrance. Just around this corner… we're now in the second half of the wing. Half of the girls have their rooms in this half, while the other half are in our part. And here's the entrance! It smells like snow. You know, since I grew up in Africa and it was always hot I'll never get used to all this snow. Now we're in the Cafeteria. What can you smell?"

"I can smell coffee, hot chocolate, an array of perfumes and colognes, warm soup, porridge and quite a few foreign scents." Caitlin sniffed again. "Your jasmine and coconut is very strong."

Nyota chuckled and paper crackled. "Now our first class is in Block-A. We start in two days, so would you like me to take you to class?"

"Really, I don't want to inconvenience-"

"Hey, I know you'll need help. Besides if you want to get around on your own you'll need to download a map of campus and put in voice commands."

Caitlin smiled. "If you know anyone majoring in computers then that would be great!" She sniffed hopefully. "I'm starving. What kind of food is there?"

She followed Nyota and wound around what she supposed to be tables. People chattered around her and sharp objects repeatedly stabbed into her legs. They had to be tables. "It looks like soup and porridge. Hey, there's bacon and eggs at the end. What do you want?"

"Just some soup and bread will be fine." She was shocked. No one had ever been this nice to her, not ever.

"Wait here. I won't be too long." Nyota's footsteps moved away and Caitlin waited patiently for her to return. Someone came up behind her.

"Hey, could you please grab a tray and move a long? The line's up there."

"Just go past me," she replied.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm waiting for someone."

"Okay." Whoever it was moved around her and cursed. "I'm so sorry!"

"Really, it's fine."

"No I'm sorry!"

"It's fine!" Nyota had returned. "She was just waiting for food." Nyota gently took her arm and steered her away. "Wow, it's like we have to put a big neon sign over your head that says 'blind'."

"Probably," Caitlin chuckled. Nyota took her hand and put it on the back of a chair. Once touching it was easy for Caitlin to sit down. Nyota sat beside her and put a tray in front of her and a bowl in front of Caitlin. The pair began to eat breakfast and the Cafeteria slowly began to fill up. Loud noise made Caitlin's head hurt and a minor headache had formed by the time she and Nyota left.

"You should have told me," Nyota scolded as she led Caitlin through the corridors.

"I didn't want to bother you. You were enjoying your food."

"That's true. I love food, especially wine and chocolate." She was silent for a moment. "You wanna come over to my room sometime after term starts? We can have chocolate and wine?"

Caitlin grinned. "I'd love to!" She had to admit, having a friend was awesome.

o.O.o

On the first day of classes Caitlin was given her specialised textbooks with blind writing inside. Nyota walked her to and sat next to her in every class, which was incredibly good of her. According to Nyota, most of the cadets they passed stared, but that was something Caitlin was used to. She just shrugged it aside.

"They'll get used to it," she chuckled. "If I wanted to make them really uncomfortable then I would take the glasses off."

Nyota's roommate turned out to be an Orion who was a computer genius. Caitlin didn't know what an Orion was, as Nyota simply said that they were like humans but with green skin. She didn't know what green was.

Her name was Gaila and she was as sweet as Nyota, albeit far more focused on men then her studies. Caitlin welcomed Nyota and Gaila over in the afternoons to study, and during that time Gaila customised her PADD to contain a voice-activated map of campus so Caitlin wouldn't get lost ever again. Gaila did the same thing on Caitlin's door so that only the voices of the three of them would allow it to open. It made getting into her room a whole lot easier.

One week into the term Caitlin was sitting in the library with headphones on, listening to Klingon proverbs and murmuring the translations. She sat with her back straight and her walking cane rested in between her legs, black-lensed glasses on to lessen the awkwardness that some other people felt around her.

_"__BortaS bIr jablu'DI' reH QaQqu' nay'…"_

"Revenge is a dish best served cold."

_"__QaStaHvIS wa' rams loS SaD Hugh SIjlaH qetbogh loD…"_

"Four thousand throats may be cut in one night by a running man."

_"__Wo' Qap veS Qaw' pagh yay, ghaH WO' pol may' qabna'Daj pagh jey…"_

"Destroying an Empire to win a war is no victory, and ending a battle to save an Empire is no defeat."

_"__HoS wej nej vay'vaD; jop 'oH ghaH chaH…"_

"Great men do not seek power; it is thrust upon them."

_"__YIlo' ra'aI' HoHbe' che' 'ab 'ach pong decisions ghaH…"_

"A leader is judged not by the length of his reign but by the decisions he makes."

The translation finished and she ran her hands down the side of her head, tugging the headphones off. Klingon was one of the ten non-Terran languages she could speak, the others being Andorian, Axanar, Ferengi, Risian, all three dialects of Romulan, Tholian and Vulcan. It was the most difficult to pronounce and if she didn't practice then it took a few tries to get the deep guttural sounds right. She hacked at the back of her throat to clear it, repeating the action until she felt the sound was perfect. For a moment the noise around her lulled but then started up again. Jasmine and coconut wafted over to her as the chair beside her was pulled out and Nyota sat heavily.

"You are fantastic at Klingon," the other woman said appreciatively. "I've been trying to get those sounds right for years!"

"Well, you've just got to use deep guttural tones and hack at the back of your throat. It helps to open your mouth more to get the _ack_ sounds right, and make sure to roll your _r_."

"I know that. I just can't seem to ever get the correct pronunciation. Vulcan is the only language harder than this."

Smiling, Caitlin let off a string of flawless Vulcan, berating Nyota for her pessimism. Nyota let out a sigh.

"You're right. If I want to become a Communications Officer then I can't put myself down."

"If you want I can tutor you in languages that you need to brush up on. There's no point in learning languages so you'll forget them."

"How do you actually _remember _all the languages? I have to constantly study all the languages I know so that I remember them."

"Oh, I just talk to myself in an array of languages. I've even created my own hybrid language made up of all the ones I know. No one knows what I'm talking about, so I can say whatever I want."

"That is cool. So I should just talk to myself rather than study from books?"

"You can listen to recordings too. I find that helpful."

"I never thought of that… Great idea though!"

"That's great," Caitlin grinned. She straightened from where she had been hunched over while whispering with Nyota and felt around her table for her PADD. "I'll be off to dinner."

"Okay. I'll be down in a minute."

Caitlin grabbed her PADD and Nyota helped her gather her things. Then she left the library, her cane tapping along the ground, "PADD, trace route from Library to Cafeteria."

_"__Affirmative: continue forward. Turn left. Continue forward. Turn right. Turn right. Location reached."_

"PADD, deactivate."

She tucked it under her arm and entered the Cafeteria, moving left to join the line. She grabbed a tray and moved forward slowly, sniffing. There was some kind of meat so she added that to her tray. Her nose detected apple pie and she took some of that too before walking forward ten steps and turning right. It was a table set aside specially for her since she was unable to navigate through the other tables on her own. She sat and ate quickly, her mind wandering to anything and everything. Really, she wasn't mentally there as she ate.

Once finished she noted that Nyota hadn't come to dinner yet. She was probably still in the library caught up with work. Caitlin took hold of her cane and felt around the table for her PADD. She frowned. It wasn't there.

"PADD, identify location," she ordered.

_"__Location identified."_

It sounded clearly from several tables away. Caitlin abandoned her tray and stepped forward carefully, tapping the cane everywhere in front of her in an attempt to navigate through the Cafeteria to reach her PADD.

"PADD, identify location," she called again.

_"__Location identified."_

It was even further away! The people around her were laughing and she realised that someone was making a joke of her. So she stood still and smiled, holding her hand out in front of her. The joke wouldn't be funny after a time and she had patience. One thing she didn't have was anger, and she just couldn't find it within her to get angry at them, so patience was her best option.

Farm animals hit her nose and Monique's voice could be heard, goading Caitlin to search for her PADD. She stayed where she was, ignoring the voices. A new voice entered the mix, louder than the rest, anger filling every syllable.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!" Nyota screamed. The shouting died down somewhat and Caitlin could hear Nyota marching over. "What is _wrong _with you people? Give the woman her PADD and be done with it!" A few moments passed and it was pressed into her hand. "You should be ashamed of yourselves! If I hear that anything like this happens again, I will hunt down the person responsible and that won't be pretty." Nyota grabbed Caitlin's arm and dragged her from the Cafeteria, letting out a string of curses in her native language.

They didn't speak as they hurried along, Caitlin having no idea where they were going until Nyota typed in a door code and it hissed shut behind them.

"Nyota, what's the matter?" Gaila cried in confusion from somewhere in the room.

"Basically the whole cohort was making fun of Caitlin because she's blind!" Nyota snapped. She let go of Caitlin and stormed away. "How could you just stand there? They were making fun of you!"

Caitlin smiled and tapped her cane along the floor. "_Nam-tor RI thrap wilat nem-tor rim: _There is no offense where none is taken."

"One of Surak's teachings," Nyota breathed. "I didn't even think of that."

"Nyota, I don't think you quite understand me. I don't get angry, _ever_. I am physically incapable of becoming angry."

Gaila clapped. "So that's why you're always so serene and smiling!"

"Yes. I've been blind long enough to know that taking offence at people who don't understand my condition is pointless. There's no point in getting angry at anything, so I don't."

"That's so weird," Nyota commented. She opened a door from somewhere and the tinkle of glasses sounded. "Well, let's have some wine and chocolate and celebrate being happy!"

"It's not so much happy, just… peaceful."

"Let's celebrate peacefulness!" Gaila exclaimed, moving around the room. Caitlin heard a crunching as Gaila sat on her beanbag chair and used that constant rustling as a guide to where she was sitting. Then she too sat and waited for wine and chocolate.

Nyota eventually handed out the wine and chocolate and sat down too. "I know you don't take offence at anything, but we do need to do something to stop them from making fun of you. I don't like it when my friends get teased."

"It's no worry. I'll just speak to them in my hybrid language and completely confuse them."

"What's your hybrid language?" Gaila asked. Nyota quickly explained and Caitlin sat back comfortably, taking off her black-lensed glasses. She felt comfortable around them, which was something she'd never experienced. They were the best friends she'd ever had.

Going to Starfleet was looking to be a real wise decision on her part.

o.O.o

"We've received a distress call from Vulcan. With our primary fleet engaged in the Laurentian System I hereby order all cadets to report to Hangar 1 immediately. You're dismissed."

The whole room erupted into chaos as third- and fourth-year cadets stood and fled the assembly hall. Caitlin stood, baffled by what had happened. One minute she was listening to a trial between a Cadet Kirk and Professor Spock – who happened to be Nyota's crush – and the next they were on some kind of mission. She stood and made to leave her seat, by Nyota's strong hand stopped her.

"Caitlin, you can't go."

"Why can't I? I'm a Starfleet cadet and I have a duty to go."

"I know, but I don't want you to go. It'll be dangerous."

"Starfleet is dangerous. What's the point in being a cadet if I can't go onto a Starship and do things that other cadets can do? I'm going."

"Caitlin!" Nyota grabbed both her arms. "I say this because I love you. I don't want you to get hurt. I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you."

"What if something happens to you?"

"It won't. I'll be assigned to the _Enterprise _and Spock will be there too. He'll keep me and Gaila alive."

Caitlin grimaced and pulled her best friend into a tight hug. "Make sure you come back. _Dakh pthak; Nam-tor RI ret na'fan-kitok fa tu dakh pthak_."

"Cast out fear," Nyota translated quietly, "there is no room for anything else until you cast out fear."

"I'll be worried for you." Caitlin pulled back and let go. "Good luck."

And with that, Nyota was gone.

o.O.o

Caitlin spent a whole tense week waiting to hear from Nyota or Gaila. She sat in her room for the whole time, glad that it was holidays and there were no classes. To pass the time she walked around the Academy grounds. First- and second-years were still there and they were nervous too.

Then one ship arrived back, the _Enterprise_. The other six ships had been destroyed by Romulans and all on board had been killed.

A day after its return, Nyota came to Caitlin's room crying. Caitlin was so happy that her friend had lived, but she carried more distressing news.

"Gaila, she was on the _Farragut_," Nyota sobbed. "She was killed!"

They began to cry together, curled up in mourning for their friend. Nyota went to her room and brought back wine and chocolate. They chinked their glasses together and drank wine and ate chocolate until they felt sick. It was their way of remembering Gaila and her sheer delight in the world around her.

"I'm glad you didn't come," Nyota said sometime later. "You would have died too. You were assigned to another ship."

Caitlin hugged her tightly, woozy from the wine. "I'm so happy you came back."

Nyota had had her heart broken twice on that mission. The first was when Gaila died, and the second was when she discovered that Spock loved someone else. It tore the women to pieces and they began to cry harder, holding each other during the long nights.

For days they mourned the loss of Gaila and everyone else they knew. When they finished mourning, Nyota was due for graduation and deployment on the _Enterprise _under Captain Kirk. All the other cadets aboard that ship would graduate early.

Caitlin had to stay at the Academy. She was the only third-year. A special tutor was brought in to spend the day with her, teaching her six courses. It was lonely without Nyota. At the end of her third year, the Academy Board treated her as a special case and allowed her to graduate a year early with the full benefits of someone who had completed the whole four years. It was a quiet ceremony with just her, Admiral Barnett and her special tutor.

Even after she graduated she stayed on Earth working at the Starfleet Language Centre. She received top recommendations from her superiors but no Starship would hire her because of her disability. She accepted it quietly and kept on doing her job.

Whenever Nyota was on Earth she always came to see Caitlin and catch up. The meetings were often quiet – Nyota had become bitter since learning that Spock loved another and had not confided in anyone. So Caitlin constantly encouraged her to open up and share her feelings. Nyota sometimes reluctantly complied. It made Caitlin desperate, as she didn't want to lose her only friend.

But then the _Enterprise _was taken in for repairs and Nyota received word that Captain Kirk was looking for new people to replace the crew he lost while fighting a villain named Khan.

Caitlin was in her office, conversing with a client when Nyota barged in. She quickly transferred the line and nodded. "Yes?"

"Kirk is looking for new people to serve on board the _Enterprise_!" Nyota said in a rush. "You have to apply! Hell, I'll even force him to accept you."

The old spark had returned and Caitlin was determined to nurture it. "Okay. How do I apply?"

"Just give me your details and I'll take them to him. He's different to the other Captains."

"So you've said."

"I know, but I'm certain that he'll accept you."

Only a day later Nyota came with the news that Kirk had accepted her. This was it. She was going to space on a Starship! That was something that everyone told her wouldn't be possible but she had shown them. She felt no melancholy anymore and no regret. Her past scruples had been worth it – she had suffered and now she was ready to reap the rewards of that suffering.

The _Enterprise _was recommissioned in late 2260. When it went into Warp Caitlin sat in the xenolinguistics lab, a huge smile on her face. She was Starfleet's first blind cadet, and she was now Ensign McFarland of the _U.S.S. Enterprise_.

All thanks to her best friend, Nyota Uhura.


	2. Yeto Kestrel

This is the back-story to Yeto, a character introduced in _Vulcan Hunters_. I would recommend reading _Vulcan Hunters _in order to understand his role, and if you read this you will understand him more as a character. Also, no mentions of Zia in this. I wanted to focus more on McCoy's effect on Yeto, although Zia would have had a significant impact on him too.

Warning: lots of angst and depression in this. I was feeling sad when I wrote it. But I don't want Yeto to be sad forever, so I plan for him to find happiness in the third installment.

This hasn't been beta'd. Read and review!

o.O.o

**Yeto Kestrel**

_Snap_. Like that. Like a click of a finger her life had been extinguished. How unfair was that?

In this advanced day and age there should be a cure for depression – a kind of drug that made one forget all the hurt and gave them the ability to move on from the past. Millions would benefit from it, especially Yeto Kestrel.

It had been a year since Jaya had died. In that time, Yeto cut himself off from his family and became a hermit, wallowing in his misery. He had lost someone he loved deeply mere weeks before their wedding. A shuttle accident had shattered their happiness the second it impaled her, and Yeto had just stood in shock as the blood poured from her body. His family had done nothing to help him cope with the shock – they abandoned him on Betazed and moved to Risa to live the high-life. He had remained on his home planet and made no attempt to contact them, as they had made their true feelings towards him known. Even his family didn't want to be bothered with his unstable state.

As well as his family abandoning him, he had become an alcoholic. It wasn't a good trait for a doctor to have – he had been fired from the pharmacy over it – but it was his way of coping with the void inside him. Not even the copious amounts of pharmaceutical drugs could alleviate his pain, so he had turned to alcohol. How depressing was that?

He had had a promising future before that. He was a great doctor and he had been accepted into Starfleet Medical Academy. When Jaya died he had requested that he postpone his arrival for a year to give him time to deal with personal issues.

Now the year was almost over and Yeto was still no closer to escaping his depression. He knew that if he postponed by another year then he would be removed from the system and he would never get a chance like this again. It was something he had pondered for many months: if he went to Starfleet he could save others where he couldn't save her. On the other hand, it could have the opposite effect and he could sink even deeper into his depression. Despite the odds, he was a doctor. No matter how much it pained him, it was his duty to save lives. He had taken the Doctor's Oath and he could not just reject the creed he had followed for most of his life.

The shuttle for Earth would be leaving soon and he had to be on it. Yeto packed his Starfleet-issued uniforms, given to him at the Starfleet Administration Office when he handed in his formal application. They had run it through the system and provided him with a shuttle ticket, wishing him good luck. He looked around his one-room apartment and raided the medicine cabinet without second thought, taking all the prescription drugs he found there. Alcohol wasn't allowed on the flight, so he had drunk it all the night before. He was feeling it now – his head was throbbing and his stomach was swirling.

Lurching forward, he dropped a bottle of pills and darted forward a few steps to his toilet, hunching over and puking his guts up.

"Definitely not a good idea to drink so much," he groaned, spitting into the toilet. He crouched there for a few more moments before rubbing his head and flushing. Returning to packing, he stuffed the last of his prescriptions into the bag and looked around.

There really wasn't much left for him. He had sold almost everything he owned to pay for his rent and had barely anything to his name. The only other thing he owned was a photo frame of himself and Jaya, smiling at their engagement party. Feeling some nostalgia, he packed the photo and zipped up his bag.

_Starfleet, here I come._

o.O.o

He didn't have a roommate, and for that he was glad. It made it easier to get away with drinking whenever he wanted. When he turned up for classes he was often under the influence of alcohol, and after his first set of exams he learnt that he was barely passing.

What made it harder was that he had no real friends. He was always grumpy and sometimes aggressive towards his peers, and no matter how much he wished that he was normal, the amount of pills sitting on his sink in his dorm proved otherwise.

On his first round of holidays he stayed at the Academy, spending all his spare time in the Infirmary. That was when a distress call from Vulcan sounded and all third- and fourth-year cadets went to assist. Most of them never returned.

Yeto's Infirmary supervisor, Doctor Reynolds, said that they should be expecting injured coming in on the _U.S.S. Enterprise, _the only ship to survive the massacre on Vulcan.

"There'll be Vulcans and the crewmembers," Doctor Reynolds announced to the young cadets. "Be prepared to treat all kinds of injuries. They had a limited staff on board and most were killed in the attack. Most injuries are relatively minor."

Later that day the crew arrived on Earth, bruised and battered. They all trooped to the Infirmary for a check-up and it became over-crowded very quickly. Yeto's attention was drawn to the Acting CMO of the _Enterprise_, a third-year who was working just as hard as any of the first- or second-years.

"O, I need a dermal regenerator!" he shouted. Yeto quickly handed him one and saw the gaunt look in the doctor's eyes. The look rattled him and he found it difficult to focus as he took charge of the check-ups of the Vulcan survivors.

As he knew that Vulcans didn't like touching, he merely hovered his hand centimetres above their skin to read their physical and emotional state. All of them were emotionally distraught but he had no intention of telling anyone, as the Vulcans would not take kindly to their emotions becoming publically known.

People flooded in for a good several hours and Yeto was on his feet the entire time without stopping for a break. If he took a break then he would drink alcohol and if he drank then he couldn't return again and he couldn't fulfil his doctor's creed. So he worked endlessly, tiring as the afternoon progressed. Then the final person was sent away and the Infirmary was still, minus the few crewmembers that were bedridden from their injuries.

Yeto walked along the beds, touching each patient gently to read their condition. All of them would be fine, and he told them so. Sighing, he went into the Infirmary office and activated the coffee machine, quickly and efficiently making several coffees for the cadets on their shift. Coffee was a doctor's best friend, or in his case it was alcohol.

"Are you makin' that for us?" said a familiar voice from behind him. Yeto turned and handed a coffee to the CMO of the _Enterprise_. "I'm McCoy," the doctor said wearily, slumping into a chair.

"Yeto Kestrel," Yeto replied, taking his own coffee.

"Sometimes I hate bein' a doctor," McCoy grumbled.

"Only when it's busy," he agreed. Then he left the office and sculled his coffee, intending to go back to his room and drink until he dropped.

o.O.o

He was beginning to enjoy the Academy.

Classes were becoming more complex and he was learning things that he would never have learned at his institution on Betazed. As the workload increased he found less time to get drunk and as well as noticing a significant improvement in his health, he learnt that endless studying kept his mind off Jaya and the hole inside him. However he still took his daily medication and every time he swallowed any of the six pills, or injected the two hypos, he darkened as he thought about why he had to take so much medication. Over the last two years he had been so hopped up on alcohol and drugs that he couldn't remember what it was like to be without their influence anymore.

At the end of his first year his marks had risen from barely passing to an average mark. However as the holidays progressed he found himself seeking more and more comfort in alcohol. He found that it wasn't the sting of losing Jaya that made him drink – it was just habit now.

Oh, great. He was an alcoholic.

He'd known that he was an alcoholic for a couple years, but for some strange reason he found that he hated the idea of being one. His last check-up revealed that his kidneys were damaged and his liver would fail within the next five years if he kept up his drinking schedule. As well as that, he noted that he had become aggressive towards some of his patients and people were unwilling to be treated by him for various injuries and maladies. It was something that no doctor wanted to hear.

His blood was pounding in his ears as he crouched in his filthy dorm room. His skin was covered in a thin film of sweat and he was shaking uncontrollably. Two days. It had been two days since he'd had alcohol and his body thirsted for more. The bottles were mere steps away from him, nestled in the fridge invitingly. His hands began to shake and mimed opening a bottle. His lips formed an 'o' shape, begging for the drink to flow. So close… so close…

_No! _He was killing himself. With a roar, Yeto lunged from his crouched position and grabbed the fridge, ripping it from the wall and dragging it to the window. Still screaming, he gripped the bottom of the fridge and shoved it through the glass. It shattered and fell with the fridge, crashing into the ground with a _bang!_ Yeto stood there, breathing heavily, his hair sticking to his head and his clothes soaked to the core.

"I am not going to kill myself!" he shrieked to nothing in particular. "Jaya, I loved you! I still love you and I will love you until the day I die!" He scratched at his face possessively and marched over to the picture of the two of them. "But I HATE YOU! I hate you for the pain you've caused me!" He shattered the photo frame and ripped the photo to pieces, stalking to his bathroom and flushing it down the toilet. He slid his hand across the surface of the sink, sending his medications flying. "Doctors are meant to heal people! You broke me and I can't heal myself!" Eyes wide, he smashed his fist into the mirror, staring in fascination as blood seeped from his knuckled and splashed on the white tiled floor.

He glared at his sweaty face in the cracked and uneven mirror. "Never again… I won't be a slave to depression."

o.O.o

It took days for the shaking to dissipate, and he yearned for a drink the entire time. He would move his hands obsessively and he took to going to Block-D to stop his madness. He would pull weights and exercise until he was shaking from tiredness, and afterwards he would not drink. He would have water, but nothing else. It was the only way he could escape his unstable mind.

During the first term of his second year, he came across McCoy again. The CMO of the _Enterprise _came to the Infirmary while the ship was in port and began barking orders to the cadets on duty.

"I want that cabinet cleaned and ordered correctly!" McCoy shouted to some poor cadet, who scrambled in fear to the cabinet in question. McCoy got everyone in the Infirmary busy doing _something _before turning and seeing the Betazoid with his hands on a patient's forehead.

Yeto was concentrating on the patient's immune system. It was greatly weakened, he noted, and the patient was suffering from and A-grade cold. But there was something else.

Opening his eyes, Yeto removed his hands and made a note on a PADD. "Well, I don't know what your other doctors have told you, but you're lactose-intolerant."

The cadet stared wide-eyed. "Are you serious?! Is that why I'm constantly sick with a blocked nose?"

"Yes." Yeto opened a prescription page on his PADD. "You have a calcium deficiency, so I'm prescribing you with calcium supplements to combat that. Take one tablet with dinner and try not to eat dairy products, as in milk, cheese, butter, and yoghurt etcetera."

"Okay…" the cadet accepted the container of tablets and left quickly, their face pale. Yeto quickly wrote up the report and submitted it to the database, changing the cadet's medical status as he did so. He felt a hand on his shoulder and jumped.

"Ay, it's just me." McCoy pulled up a chair and sat next to Yeto. "Why didn't you take a blood test?"

"I'm a Betazoid. I could sense the irregularities in his immune system and was certain of the cause, so there was no need for extra testing."

McCoy looked thoughtful. "That's a pretty useful skill to have. You interested in a job when you graduate?"

"Yes."

"You wanna come on the _Enterprise_? I'm always lookin' for good doctors who know their stuff."

"Yes Doctor."

McCoy nodded. "Well that's settled. How about comin' with me for a drink after your shift?"

Yeto's insides clenched and he shook his head, flexing his jaw agitatedly. "No thank you. I don't drink, not anymore."

His statement made McCoy blink. "What do you mean 'not anymore'?"

"Just check my medical file," Yeto explained resignedly. Why was he doing this? Why was he ruining his change at an actual job? McCoy borrowed his PADD and looked up his file, reading it aloud in a low voice.

**_Full Name:_**_Yeto Kestrel_

**_Species:_**_Betazoid_

**_Gender:_**_Male_

**_Born:_**_2231_

**_Age:_**_27 Terran Years_

**_Affiliation:_**_Federation_

**_Occupation:_**_Starfleet Medical Cadet, Second Year_

**_Medical History: _**_Patient has been diagnosed with severe depression and alcoholism. Recommend full-body and brain scan._

**_Prescriptions: _**_Escitalopram, Citalopram, Fluoxetine, Fluvoxamine, Paroxetine, Duloxetine, Venlafaxine and Desvenlafaxine_

As he finished reading, McCoy looked at Yeto. Instead of looking confused, he looked satisfied. "Well, you know what they say about doctors healin' others but ain't bein' able to heal themselves."

Yeto paused, thinking about what McCoy had just said. "Now I'm confused."

"Let me explain." McCoy handed the PADD back. "I was once married, but then I got divorced and my ex-wife got the whole damn planet in the divorce, includin' our daughter. I was also an alcoholic at that point in time, and because I was depressed I went to Starfleet. Trust me, it gets better. You won't always be this bad. When did you stop drinkin'?"

"During the winter holidays," Yeto admitted. "I've been cold turkey ever since."

"Why did you start drinkin' in the first place?"

"Oh, the woman I was supposed to marry was killed and my family moved to Risa and left me behind. I was depressed and lonely." He couldn't believe that he had met someone who understood.

McCoy chuckled. "Well that seals the deal. From now on you are my protégée and you report to me. Anyone gives you smack and you talk to me."

"Uh, yes doctor."

o.O.o

His life took a positive turn from then on. He became fitter and stronger, spending his time either in class, the Infirmary or in the gym. He began to heal.

Now he had his future to focus on. As time progressed and he strayed further away from alcohol he could almost forget the pain that losing Jaya had caused, but every time he thought of it, he still felt pangs of regret.

Things were going smoothly until the _Vengeance _crashed into Earth.

First, Yeto worked until he dropped to help the flood of injured. He lived in the Infirmary for days on end, eventually being temporarily transferred to other hospitals in the vicinity. His job was to assess major injuries and his unique skills were in high demand. It was chaotic. Once the initial panic subsided and the flow of injured began to slow, he assisted with the blood transfusion of Captain Kirk and constantly monitored his future-Captains vital signs.

When Captain Kirk was on the road to recovery, he thanked Yeto and formally welcomed him as a member of the _Enterprise _crew. Yeto felt honoured and bowed gratefully to the Captain. When he left the Infirmary that evening he was a changed man.

He did end up going drinking with McCoy, but he had jestral tea instead of alcohol. The pair poured out their woes to each other, ending the night with a hearty pat on the back.

"Women are terrible," McCoy announced. "Never get married."

"I don't plan on it," Yeto replied truthfully, "but then again, I might. I could meet the woman of my dreams and that will be great."

"Yeto, you are a great person. I am glad that you're better now. You're better than I ever was." With that, McCoy slapped him on the back and exited the bar drunkenly, leaving Yeto to hurriedly pay for the drinks and race after him.

He was glad that he had met McCoy and become his protégée. The man had become his mentor and a close father-figure, albeit a grumpy one. He was glad to graduate at the end of his third-year and join the _Enterprise _crew as a Lieutenant under McCoy. It was a big 'in your face' to his family, who thought he would never amount to anything. He had proven them wrong.

As the _Enterprise _warped into her five-year mission, Yeto sat in the Infirmary, feeling indescribably proud of his accomplishments. He had overcome depression, alcoholism and the loss of everyone in his life that he loved. Now he had a new family on board this Starship, and he was looking forward to the adventure.

"Thank you Doctor."


	3. Jamie

Here is Jamie, a character who appears in _Vulcan Hunters _as Zia's friend from work. If you've read _Vulcan Hunters _and then this you'll find a few references to her but not by name. I thought it was best to focus on the relationship between Jamie and Kirk. I would recommend reading the aforementioned story to understand the references. This is a Kirk/OC story, and I plan to pair these two together in the future.

Lots of romance and fluff, as well as drunk/defensive Kirk. Please read and review!

o.O.o

**Jamie**

Being one-quarter Orion was hard.

For one thing, it brought her unwanted attention. For another, it stopped people from taking her seriously.

Throughout her life she had worked at a topless bar, a strip club and as a waitress at several restaurants. It was difficult for her to hold a job because of her tendency to snap at men who were smitten with her looks. Her mum had made her become impatient and distrustful of men.

It started with her grandmother, a full-blooded Orion who was assaulted by a human male. A daughter had resulted from that night and the half-Orion girl was always ignored by her mother, ending with her yearning for attention from whoever would give it to her. She dated and slept with anyone who would have her, and then Jamie was born.

Jamie never knew her father. He was just another of the endless queue of sleazebags who wanted one thing. It wasn't like she was disappointed, far from it. She was glad that she'd never known him because if he was anything like all those other men, he wasn't worth knowing. Several of those other men tried to make advances on her when she began to bloom, but she was stronger than her mother. She used her Orion pheromones to keep them away from her because she couldn't understand why their eyes would smoulder and why they would lick their lips. When she was old enough to know, she was scared.

Then her mother entered an abusive relationship and it snapped her out of the need for attention. Jamie sent him away for good and scolded her mother for being so needy, to which the half-Orion replied that it was in her nature.

She tried to change. She spent more time at home and less time in bars and clubs, trying to raise her daughter instead of accidentally creating another one. It didn't stop Jamie from repeating the same year of high school three times, but it brought the mother and daughter closer.

Once Jamie left school she began to date and engage in intimate relationships with males. It only took a few failures for her to realise that they were only in it for the night-time adventures. So she stopped dating and focused on work, planning to get enough money so she could lead a comfortable life with her cat, Kili, and to never fall for anyone.

But even the best-laid plans can be ruined.

o.O.o

It was her first date in years. Jamie stared at herself in the mirror and bit her lip, checking that she looked decent. Hair was curled, make-up was done and her clothes were modest. Yep, she felt ready to do this. After all, she was going on a date with the most eligible hero of Starfleet.

There was a knock on her apartment door and she left the bathroom, switching the light off. She took a deep breath and opened the door slowly. Captain James T. Kirk stood there in a suit and tie, holding out a bouquet of flowers.

"For you, milady," he greeted warmly.

"Thank you, kind sir." She took the flowers and hurriedly filled up a vase and set them in the water. Kirk didn't take a step into her apartment as she did so. That was strange; normally they strolled in and pushed her against something, or tried to sweet-talk her. She grabbed her purse and joined him in the hall, locking the door behind her. "Where are we going?"

"That's a surprise." He took out a blindfold from his chest pocket. "Do you mind?"

"Um… okay?"

"I promise not to do anything naughty." He wound the blindfold around her eyes and led her from the building, taking her to a vehicle and shutting the door behind her. He then climbed into the driver's seat and began to drive. They didn't speak but Jamie liked that. He was saving his conversation for the date.

Then they got to wherever they were going – stopping at the Academy Infirmary along the way – and Kirk pulled the blindfold off, grinning at Jamie's stunned face.

"Viola," he said with a flourish. She stared in shock at _the _most expensive and high-class restaurant in all of San Francisco. This was the one place she never thought she would ever go for a date. Kirk looked pleased and exited the car, holding a hand to stop her from moving and rushed around the bonnet, opening the door for her. Her heart melted with his thoughtfulness and she exited gracefully. Kirk handed the keys to an attendant who would park the car for them.

"This is mind-blowing," she managed to stammer.

"Shall we?" Kirk held out his arm and she took it hesitantly, allowing him to lead her up the stairs and into the restaurant. It was massive inside with a high-vaulted ceiling, large glass windows, soft candle-lighting and a band playing a gentle song. They stopped at the doorway and Kirk looked at her. "Where would you like to sit?"

"You're asking me?" She gaped.

"Yeah," he laughed. "Where would you like to sit?"

She scanned the room. "How about that table close to the band and next to a window: number seventeen."

Smiling, they headed for the table in question and Kirk pushed her chair in as she sat down. If a real date was like this, then she would love to do it all the time. They spent a minute perusing their menus before deciding what they wanted.

A waiter approached them. "Good evening. Are you ready to order?"

"Yes." Kirk folded his menu. "For appetisers, can we please have peaches and caviar? And can we also please have a bottle of Chateau Coeur?"

"Yes Captain. What would you like for your main course?"

Jamie folded her menu. "May I please have salmon with a side of potato salmon?"

"And I would like lasagne."

"Thank you. We will deliver your champagne and appetisers shortly."

When the waiter was gone, Kirk grinned at Jamie. "What do you think?"

"Captain, I-"

"Please, call me Jim."

"Okay. Jim, I am amazed. This is fantastic!"

"Phew. That's excellent feedback. I don't really go on many dates to tell you the truth."

"Me neither. It's mainly just…"

"One-night stands?"

She blinked. "Yes. No one has ever done anything like this for me."

"Well you earned it. I got my First Officer back thanks to you."

"It was a combined effort." She gestured around the restaurant. "How did you afford all this?"

"Come on, I'm a Federation hero! I just drop my name and I'm allowed anywhere. I figured that this is a great place as any for a date."

"Well it is awesome. You've really outdone my dating standard."

"What was it before?"

"Oh, fast food and a movie," she grimaced. "It was awful." And it had been, because he had gotten frisky in the theatre as they were the only ones there. She walked out before the movie had even started. "What's your best?"

"Oh man… she took me to hen's night at a strip club. I did not enjoy it at all!"

Jamie laughed. "That's a classic!"

"This was before I was famous, mind you. Nowadays when I go out I get swamped by girls." He looked up as their peach and caviar arrived. "I don't put much faith in dating, to be honest."

"Me neither, although if you keep this up I might have to change my mind," she teased. He grinned deviously and scraped some caviar onto a biscuit, holding it up for her to eat. She delicately took a bite and he ate the rest, licking his fingers enticingly.

_So this is what real flirting is like, _she thought. There was no touching or purring; just gentle teasing. She quite liked it. Oh, she knew that Jim would probably want nothing more than to spend the night with her – he was a man after all – but for a renowned playboy he was showing remarkable restraint.

As the night progressed they opened up more, sharing stories of their childhood and love-life, and Jamie revealed that she was five years older than him. There were no secrets between them. She was very surprised when he admitted that he had been with an Orion before, one named Gaila.

"She's dead now," he sighed. "She was killed last year with most of the other cadets by the Romulans. You're nothing like her."

They drank two bottles of champagne between them, with Jim showing barely any signs of tipsiness. Jamie was feeling very warm and fuzzy by the time they ordered dessert. Jim ordered chocolate soufflé and Jamie ordered strawberry tart. She loved strawberries. It was her favourite food. As they ate, Jim told her about his favourite childhood memory of when he stole his step-dad's car and drove it off a canyon, barely scraping out alive. The police weren't very happy with him.

"Rebel without a cause," he declared, clinking glasses with her.

The band struck up a lively tune after they finished their dessert. Flushed with champagne and happiness, they stood and danced their hearts out on the dance floor, people cheering as they jived and boogied together. When the tune slowed they held hands and waltzed among the other couples.

Jamie sighed and rested her head on Jim's shoulder. "This is the best date ever."

"Yeah, we should do this again sometime."

"I would love that."

It was late when they left, but the city was still wide awake. Jim's car was brought around and he drove her home. She was smiling the whole time because he wasn't even devouring her with his eyes. He was truly a remarkable man. When they arrived at her apartment he walked her to her door and a sense of foreboding overcame her. This was when the spell would end and he would ask to come in, revealing his true intentions.

They stopped outside her door and she waited. "I had fun," he said. "Can I-" she held her breath "-have your number?"

She let the breath out. "Okay." She quickly gave him her number and smiled. "This was great, thank you."

"No, thank _you_." He leant in and kissed her cheek softly. When he moved back she could feel her entire cheek tingling. "I really hope we can do this again."

"I would love to."

"Good night."

"Good night."

And he turned and left. She stood there until she heard his car pull out, then she leapt into the air and shrieked with delight. Kili yowled from inside her apartment and she fumbled with the key for a second before bursting inside.

"Oh Kili, I love you!" she shouted. "He's perfect! My God he's perfect!" She grabbed Kili and spun the protesting cat around. "We had dinner, and we flirted and we dance! It was the best night ever!"

o.O.o

In the following year and a half they went on a few more dates, mostly within the first six months. Then Jim was caught up with preparations for the five-year mission and selecting new crewmembers to go along with him. They stopped seeing each other and Jamie wouldn't admit to anyone but Kili that she was missing him. Only her mother saw through the façade.

"You really like this boy, don't you?"

"Yeah, I guess, but he's a Starfleet hero and I'm five years older than him. Besides, he's got women lining up for him and I am _way _out of his league. I've got more to think about then men, like how I'm going to pay the bills."

"Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry for doing this to you. You don't think that love is real because of me."

"But it is real. I love you mum."

The two women hugged and the atmosphere around the dinner table became lighter.

Not long after that, Jim contacted her and invited her to hang out. He said that it wasn't a date and it was just two people hanging out and having a good time. Her teeth clenched when he said that, but she accepted his invitation anyway.

They met at Ripley's bar in upper-San Francisco and immediately she could sense a change about him. It had been months since they'd met face-to-face and they occasionally spoke via email. They were too busy to constantly talk to one another.

Music pounding in their ears, they sat at the bar and ordered beer. "How have you been?" Jim asked.

"Alright, I guess. What about you?"

"Busy as hell getting the paperwork sorted for the five-year mission." He accepted his drink. "We're leaving in three weeks so I've gotta say my goodbyes."

"You've got a list?"

"Yeah, and you and my mum are at the top."

She blinked. "I'm… honoured."

"We had some good times." He was obviously talking about that amazing make-out session they had on their second date. "I miss the chatting. On the ship I'm either lectured by Bones or Spock and that is not fun."

"What do they lecture you about?"

"Oh, Bones lectures me about my safety and Spock lectures me about acting 'illogically'. They're bullies."

"My mum would be worse. She lectures me all the time about how important it is to settle down. Like she knows what she's talking about. She's never settled down!" Jamie sipped her drink and sighed. "I'm sorry. Mums just annoy you."

"Tell me about it. My mum gave me 'the talk' when I was thirteen and I've never looked at her the same way since."

They laughed and clinked drinks, easing into more comfortable conversation. Jamie kept no secrets from him and told him the absolute truth, except when it came for her feelings for him. She was in denial. She told people that they had made out a little and it was nothing serious, but she didn't reveal that she badly wanted it to become serious. If he wasn't leaving Earth in three weeks she would probably tell him.

Everything she knew about James T. Kirk was completely opposite of everything she had been told. She was told that he was a womaniser who only wanted what was under the clothes, but the real Jim was a gentleman who didn't want to be alone. He was a thrill-seeker, always needing something in his life to be moving, and for many years it was his love-life that was moving. Now it was his crew and the responsibility had changed him.

He had changed her. Before Jim, she had no hope of settling down and she believed that there was no possibility of falling in love. Her entire idea of what love was had been changed and she had a rough idea of what it was like. She now knew what romance was and she adored it.

Those men who tried to advance on her when she was a girl, they only thought with a certain part of their anatomy. Jim wasn't like them. He actually used his head and saw her not only as a woman, but as a friend. It was awesome.

As Jim ordered another drink, the recently-vacated seat on Jamie's other side was filled. An unpleasant smell reached her nostrils and she knew only one person who wore too much cologne.

"Hello Jamie," purred her ex, Sullivan. "You're lookin' fine. Can I get you a drink?"

"No," she replied shortly. "I've already got a drink and I can pay for it myself."

"Excuse me?" Jim leant in front of her to glare at Sullivan. "What's your problem?"

Sullivan raised his hands in defence. "I just asked if I could give this girl a drink."

Her blood boiled. She _hated _being called a girl. "Well she's not interested, so bye-bye." She waved sarcastically and turned her back to him.

"What's his problem?" Jim demanded, anger overshadowing his features.

"He's my ex," Jamie sighed, "one of them."

Jim leant in front of her and gazed evenly at Sullivan. "Back off man, she's not interested."

"And who are you? Her boyfriend," Sullivan smirked.

"Captain James T. Kirk of the _U.S.S. Enterprise_," Jim spat. "Perhaps you know me."

Sullivan paled. "Uh, sorry Captain, I didn't know she was your girl." His face became hard again. "Is that supposed to mean something to me, asshole?"

Jim glanced at Jamie. "Man, you really dated jerks."

"I know."

"You might want to move away."

"Why?"

"I'm gonna kick his ass."

"Bring it on!" Sullivan shouted. Jamie moved back and Jim tackled Sullivan, knocking the man from his seat. They brawled on the floor, landing punches anywhere they could reach until a burly security guard marched over and ripped them apart.

"Break it up!" the guy roared. "You, get your girl and get out of here! You! I never want to see you in here again!" He threw both of them in different directions and Sullivan slinked off, glaring at Jim and Jamie.

The pair left the bar and Jamie quickly checked for injuries. "It looked like he got you pretty bad."

"Nah, just once or twice in the stomach," Jim shrugged. "I'm fine." He grabbed her hand and led the way down the street.

"It's late," she told him, "and you're somewhat inebriated. You should get home."

"Let's go!" He began to skip joyfully, a little off-balance, and she joined in after a slight hesitation. Obviously he had had too much to drink.

"Hey," she said, "thanks for defending me back there."

"No problem! I can't let any jerk talk to you like that! It's not nice."

"Wow, the famous James T. Kirk knows how to be respectful to women. It's a miracle!" She grinned at her genius sarcasm.

"Oy, I learned that a long time ago. It's just been a while since I've been with a woman who's deserving of that respect."

She blushed. "Thanks, I guess."

"It's really nice to talk to you again." Jim slowed down to a walk, not releasing his hold of her hand. "I've missed talking to a level-headed woman. I mean, yeah I can talk to Uhura and Spock's girlfriend, but it's not the same."

Jamie raised her eyebrow as he rattled on. "Are you saying that I'm level-headed?"

"Yes, I am. You don't squeal or fangirl when I walk past and it's rare and I like it. Now, which way is your home?"

"Hey, I'm taking _you _home. I don't trust you to walk home alone in this state."

"I-I don't…"

"Come on. I'll take you home."

"Okay." He chuckled. "I'll get my driver to take you home."

"I'll get a taxi."

It didn't take long to reach Jim's apartment. Jamie peeked inside as he opened the door and noted just how messy it was inside, a stark contrast to her neat home.

"Yeah, it's not the nicest." Jim swept his arm around. "You wanna come in?"

"No, I think I should be heading off." What the hell was she doing? If she went in then she could actually live her fantasies, but then again, he was drunk. It wouldn't be the same.

"Oh, sure, I'll get my driver." He laid a hand on the door. "When I get back from the mission we should go out, like for real. Although," he added absent-mindedly, "you'll probably have a boyfriend by then."

"Probably not," she replied. "I really hope you have fun on the mission. Take care of your ship and your crew."

"Life ain't a fairy-tale," Jim sighed.

"Good night."

"Night, don't let the bed-bugs bite."

She turned and walked down the stairs, listening to his door shut behind her. Her heart pounded as she called a taxi. Never had she thought that he would be interested in her like she was interested in him.

o.O.o

The _Enterprise _was leaving in an hour. Jamie sat on her couch with a glass of wine, stroking Kili as he purred in her lap. She sipped the wine and thought of the email that Jim had sent her the night before.

_I meant what I said. Will you think about it?_

She had thought about it. By God she had thought about it. So many risks… so many repercussions, and there was no way of knowing if he would come back alive. But he had cheated death before and he would do it again for his family.

Jim had changed everything she thought about men. She still thought that a majority of them were smarmy bastards, but some were actually alright. Her hope had been restored, and she was no longer the dissolute woman who would become a cat lady when she was old and frail. She was very close to falling for Jim and she knew it.

He had changed her for the better, and she would miss him.

So she nudged Kili off her lap, pulling a face as he meowed in annoyance, and crossed to her computer. She opened up the email and selected _'Reply'_. Smiling slightly, she typed her answer and sent it.

_I'll wait for you._


	4. Lexis Redcliffe

Introducing Lexis Redcliffe, an OC who will appear in the third installment of my Spock/Zia stories. I quite like her character, as she is strong and does what she wants without caring what other people think. This is the last character I wish to introduce, so there will be no more chapters after this.

Did you like my characters? Please review and let me know!

o.O.o

**Lexis Redcliffe**

Her parents were both born in the Takret system on a planet with a corrupt military Militia, so they pleaded to immigrate to Earth to be free of the corruption. They married upon their arrival on Earth and three children followed in quick succession – Lexis, Tina and Mark.

Lexis Redcliffe was her Earth name, given to her by the Federation when she was born. Her real name was unpronounceable by humans as it involved a complicated set of tongue clicking that only a Takret like her could perform. She had never learnt her native tongue, and neither had her siblings, but they didn't mind. Takret was a fraudulent planet, as far as she was concerned, and she had no ties to it.

The planet was run by an alright government that placed heavy emphasis on democracy and nationalism. Despite this, it didn't prevent the obvious rift between the four classes: politicians, warriors, scribes and labourers. Politicians ran the planet and were the highest of the classes. Warriors made up the military and were often corrupt, leading to conflict with the other classes and Martial Law being declared periodically. Scribes were the smartest of them all without any measurable physical prowess, and often revolved around Engineering and Science. Labourers were the lowest of the low; the ones who built things and traded food and did everything that the other classes didn't.

Her parents were scribes and their genetic knowledge in Engineering and Science had been passed down to her and her siblings. They were smart by human standards, especially Lexis when it came to Engineering. She absolutely loved working the bowels of a machine and learning how it ticked, sometimes even making modifications of her own. Although more often than not the modifications backfired and she ended up blowing up whatever she was working on.

Despite all the failures, tomorrow she was off to Starfleet to where she could hopefully become the engineer she wanted to be and perhaps even validate some of her theories. If she did that, then people would stop calling her a hopeless dreamer. She was the eldest of her siblings, almost twenty-eight now, and she thought it was about time she put her Engineering degree from University to use. It would be great to break the boundaries of space-time and discover a new equation or a new way of thinking. She admitted that she was a bit of a dreamer in the sense that she wanted to think outside the box, but she wasn't afraid of that. Bring on the adventure!

Canada was beautiful in winter. Snow swirled from the sky and littered the ground without making a noise, muffling all sound around her. She carefully wrapped her scarf around the robot she had built while at work at the mechanic. Yes, she knew she should have been working, but the idea of a robot for her younger brother wouldn't leave her be. Mark loved it when she made him things, even if he was always suspicious that they would blow up on him at a moment's notice. When she got to the Academy she could make better things for him out of better equipment. It could be the end to all her Engineering failures and she could finally prove her theories.

She joyfully skipped through the white park, kicking up snow with each step. The Academy was going to be great!

o.O.o

Her professors said she was a good engineer, but her inventiveness would be her downfall. Apparently engineers just fixed things, and it was the scientists' jobs to come up with new things for the engineers to fix. Not in her case. She wanted to prove that she wasn't hopeless, that she wasn't the typical engineer and that it was possible to invent as well as fix. It wasn't right to stereotype the redshirts as dumb cadets who just thought with their hands.

She stared at the simulation in front of her thoughtfully. It was her final exam of her third year at the Academy. She had had an absolute blast so far, making new friends and passing all her classes, but it hadn't been smooth sailing the whole way through the last three years. During her second year nearly all the third- and fourth-years were killed in the space above Vulcan, and halfway through this year a large chunk of San Francisco had been destroyed by a crashing Starship. Lexis had received extra credit for volunteering to help repair the city. A lot of it was now fully-repaired and things were getting back to normal.

This _Warp Engineering _exam was only thirty minutes long, much shorter than most other assessments. Her _Advanced Warp Design _exam had been three hours long just by itself so thirty minutes was a welcome respite. Short exams were useful for prospective engineers, as on a Starship they were often under pressure and had to get things done quickly.

The simulation was of a Starship going into Warp 8, travelling one-thousand light-years before turning and moving around a planetoid to go back the way they came. She had to figure out when to drop out of Warp and precisely where she had to position the ship so it could slingshot around the planet, all the while keeping the Warp Drive together. What made it harder was that the Warp Drive could only travel at Warp 7, and she had to keep it from falling apart while travelling at Warp 8, as well as inputting the necessary flight commands and the correct slingshot formula.

Most of the other third-years had their tongues stuck out as they followed the regulation method. Lexis suspected that if she followed the regulation method she wouldn't finish the task in time and would fail, so she decided to use her own formulas. It was risky, as none of them had been proven in anything but simulations, but this was a simulation so it should be alright.

Pushing along at Warp 8, she entered her slingshot formula and dropped out of Warp further away from the planet than regulation standard. She used one hand to fix the Warp Drive as it smoked and screamed while she diverted all excess energy to the dilithium crystals, and the other focused on the targeting system. The ship was gaining momentum, more than was acceptable, and the warp coil shot loose.

Her screen flashed red and she grabbed the warp coil and stabbed it back into place, losing concentration for a split second. The ship began to turn a second to late and she could tell that something was wrong. It was moving too fast. She compensated with manoeuvring thrusters and desperately loosened the coolant cap, sending freezing air shooting all over the drive to keep it from overheating.

The simulation shrieked as it slingshot around the planet faster than physics could keep up. She quickly adjusted the formula, tweaking its course by a tiny amount to reimburse for speed and it looked like the ship was going to make it.

Then the power transfer conduit failed and the ship hurtled off course, her formulas unable to save it. After a few seconds the coolant ran out and the Warp Drive failed altogether. Her screen went dark.

She angrily thumbed the desk and thrust her head in her hands. Okay, what did she do wrong? It was going fine until the warp coil came loose. Her focus was distracted and she wasn't able to keep up with her speed. She had been going too fast in an attempt to use her formula to slingshot at a wider range with an increased speed, and that momentary lapse of concentration had led to inconsistency with the slingshot time.

So she had failed her final exam. Oh joy! The professor's PADD beeped as her result was transferred over to him and he looked at her in disappointment.

When the exam finished he held her back as the other cadets rushed out, most of them having completed the simulation with little issue.

"Why would you jeopardise your chances at getting a job?" he demanded. "Why did you forsake everything we taught you in deference with your own work?"

"Sir, I thought that if I followed the regulation method I wouldn't finish in time."

"The regulation method is _safe_. If you were on a Starship and that happened, you would all be dead!"

"With all due respect sir, I just took a risk and it didn't pay off." She kept her eyes on the back wall, unwilling to meet his disappointed gaze.

"This is _Quantum Mechanics_. We teach you what moves are appropriate in space. What you did is not appropriate! You know that going too fast in space is deadly, especially when about to slingshot, and you cannot focus on getting the Warp Drive functioning and moving at such a great speed at the same time. You need to be moving at a slower, controlled pace to be able to make the turn. It's simple physics."

"Yes sir. May I go now?"

"You're dismissed."

She grabbed her satchel and stormed from the room, rage overshadowing her features. What was the point of the exam anyway? Who was dumb enough to be pushing Warp 8 in a Warp 7 Starship? Her formula would have worked, she knew, and just because she was older than the other cadets didn't mean that she was any less smart. She just didn't like regulations.

As she entered her room her roommate was startled at her anger. Lexis ignored her and grabbed a change of clothes, pulling on pants, boots and a jacket before leaving campus. She needed a good strong drink. Rain fell as she walked out in the open and she pulled her hood up and stuffed her hands in her pockets, grumbling at how clichéd it was that it rained when people were sad.

The club she entered was filled with people, stank like alcohol and blared with music and talk. Lexis went straight to the bar and ordered a Scotch Rickey. She watched as the bartender mixed together ice, lime juice, lemon juice, scotch and soda. It was her favourite drink and she drank it eagerly.

As she ordered her third one the seat next to her was taken by a tired-looking man.

"Scotch on tha rocks," he said. "I need meself a good stiff drink."

"You like scotch?" she asked.

"Aye, 'tis me favourite drink," he replied, accepting it. "I grew up on tha stuff." He took a sip. "I'm Scotty, Chief Engineer of tha _U.S.S. Enterprise_."

"I'm Lexis Redcliffe, third-year cadet at the Academy."

"What're ye studyin'?"

"Engineering," she replied bitterly. "I might as well just give up and go home." Scotty looked at her funny and she burst. "Are all the exams that goddamn hard? I mean, I don't see how a ship that can only do Warp 7 going at Warp 8 has any relevance to Engineering. I'm not gonna be a pilot!"

He chuckled, "Ye fail tha' exam?"

"Yes." She blinked. "Did you?"

"Aye, I tried doin' ma own thing an' I ended up blowin' up the ship."

"My Warp Drive deactivated because I used my own formula instead of the regulation one, and I overshot by a second." She frowned. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

"Ye prob'ly heard abou' me when I go' excommunicated to Delta Vega." He shuddered. "It was cold, an' I still haven't found tha' bloody beagle."

She laughed. "You're Montgomery Scott! I have heard of you! You were all over the news at one stage. I think I read one of your articles once."

He raised his glass. "Aye, tha's me. If ye don't mind ma askin', wha' kinda formulas did ye use?"

"Oh, just ones that I made myself," she shrugged. "I haven't really done anything besides simulation testing."

"Would ye wanna meet up for lunch sometime? I'm interested in yer formulas."

"Uh, sure," she said slowly. She had to get to know him first. "So where are you from?"

"Scotland, aye, good ol' Scotland," he said dreamily, "an' if I'm no' mistaken, yer from Canada…?"

"That's right. Was it the accent?"

"Aye, tha' it was."

They talked for ages, Lexis forgetting the drink in her hand as she basked in how nice it was to talk about someone who knew what it was like to be belittled for sticking with their ideas. Scotty was sent to Delta Vega over a debate into the issue of relativistic physics pertaining to subspace travel, and eventually accepted back when he was able to prove his theory. Intellectually, they had a lot in common.

When the club closed they parted with a promise to meet up for lunch the following day to compare their work.

o.O.o

Lexis ordered rice and coffee as she joined Scotty for lunch. They both exchanged PADD's once they were seated.

"Wha' are those marks on ye cheek?" he asked.

"Oh, they're normal. I'm Takret."

"I guess tha' explains ye engineerin' smarts, aye."

"I guess so," she smiled, looking at the file on his PADD. "These formulas are complex! I don't work with subspace travel or Transporter capabilities, but this does seem genius."

"Thanks lass; an' this looks complex too. Ye focus on Warp equations?"

"Yes."

He ran his hand down the side of the PADD, not noticing as his food was placed in front of him. "I could use this. Ye should come an' see my Lady. She's fixed up real nice now, but her computin' needs doin'."

"Your Lady…?"

"Aye, tha _Enterprise_," he nodded. "She go' injured las' year by tha _Vengeance_, tha ship tha' crashed into tha city."

"Oh, I heard about that. I was at home at the time."

"I've been workin' hard to ge' her fixed up coz we're goin' on a five-year mission come the enda next year. Yer formulas could be really helpful on tha journey."

"Well in that case, you can have them. I probably failed this semester so I don't see much use for them. Besides, you're the only person to take an interest in them."

"Ye should come see me Lady," he said suddenly.

"Why?" She spooned rice into her mouth with the question.

"Tha Capt'n is lookin' for new recruits because we lost some last year," Scotty explained. "I lost a lot o' engineerin' Ensigns and Lieutenants. I think it's a bi' too late to tell ye tha' I'm on tha lookout for new recruits."

"Just a bit," she squinted and held up two fingers that were almost touching. Then the magnitude of what he had really said hit her. "Wait, you're looking to hire me on your Starship?"

"Aye, tha's wha' I'm sayin'."

"You want _me_?"

"Aye…"

She laughed. People had always called her hopeless and told her that her blatant disregard for regulations would get her nowhere. Boy, had she shown them. "When do you wanna go?"

"When we finish eatin'?"

"That sounds good."

They continued their lunch, chatting about their formulas and their history with Engineering. Lexis was amused to hear that Scotty had once built a robot when he was in his first year of college and when he brought it to class it blew up and singed his eyebrows. Singed hair was part of the job.

When they finished Scotty took her to a side alley and commed someone to 'beam up me plus one'. Lexis smiled as the Transporter took effect and she disappeared in a flash of white, only to reappear on a Transporter pad in a clean room.

"We only go' Transporters back online las' week," Scotty explained. He waved to the Ensign who was managing the Transporter.

"Bringing a lady friend in for a show?" the Ensign teased.

"No, bringin' in a prospective Ensign," Scotty laughed. "Ye should see her work. She's a genius!"

The Ensign laughed and gestured to the door. "In you go."

Scotty led Lexis from the Transporter room to Engineering, greeting several people that they passed. Quite a few of them sent the pair strange looks.

As they entered Engineering, Lexis gaped. It was stunning. Although it looked messy with pipes and wires running everywhere, there was actually an order to them and they were all impeccably cleaned. Scotty took her to the main computer console and showed her the controls, although it was offline so he couldn't actually do anything.

"Yer formulas will do well for me ship," Scotty said happily. "She'll run a lot smoother."

Lexis was about to speak but a voice behind them beat her to it. "Scotty, I see you've heard the memo. It's 'bring a friend day'."

Scotty chuckled and embraced the man who approached them. "Ach Capt'n, yer jokes never ge' old. May I introduce Lexis Redcliffe? She's a third-year at tha Academy."

"Wonderful to meet you," Lexis said smoothly, shaking his hand. This must be the captain.

"Captain Jim Kirk, at your service," he bowed.

"Capt'n, take a look at her formulas. She's an engineer with an inventive streak."

Kirk stared at her PADD and whistled. "Wow, those are smart. I would never have thought of those." He looked at Scotty. "And you brought her here because…?"

"Oh, I was hopin' you could gimme tha green light to have her transferred to tha _Enterprise _when she finishes at tha Academy."

"Yeah, sure, you know what you're doing." Kirk smiled. "If you're as brilliant as this guy then you'll do well."

She was speechless. Not only had someone liked her work, but she had a future now. Scotty was becoming the best person she'd ever had the chance of meeting. "I, uh… um… thanks?"

Scotty laughed and cried out something in native Scottish brogue before switching back to English. "Yer welcome here lass. I need a new Junior Engineerin' Officer."

"With all due respect, you don't know about my Engineering skills."

"Then I'll check."

"Thank you… sirs."

"You're welcome," Kirk grinned, wandering off.

"Yer welcome lass."

o.O.o

One year later she graduated with a degree in _Engineering _to put on top of the one she earned while at University. She celebrated with her family and introduced them to her mentor, Montgomery Scott. They all liked each other.

Then it was time to set off on the five-year mission. When the _Enterprise _went into Warp Lexis was down in Engineering with Scotty and Keenser, opening a bottle of Scotch as their mission began.


End file.
